The Philadelphia Eagles have such a well-constructed roster that they could move forward and still have a successful season if they lost almost any of their starters — except for one.
That player would be quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was the subject of a scary injury report from Thursday Night Football sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung right before halftime against the Washington Commanders in Week 11.
“Jalen Hurts is in the the tent with an independent neurotrauma specialist,” Hartung told play-by-play analyst Al Michael and color commentator Kirk Herbstreit.
“Whoa,” Michaels replied.
It wasn’t clear exactly when Hurts may have been hurt, but the back of his head bounced off the ground on a sack by Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu early in the second quarter and Hurts rolled over and appeared to be in pain for a few seconds.
“Of course everyone ignores this sack because it doesn’t regard Tua Tagovailoa,” wrote Kee Sports’ Brady Hamilton on his official X account. “With the way his head bounced off the ground like that, Jalen Hurts at minimum should’ve been taken out to be checked for a concussion.”
Hurts ran out of the tent and jogged into the locker room at halftime. Hartung reported he’d been cleared to play in the second half. The Eagles, winners of 5 straight games, were trailing 7-3 at halftime.
Eagles Have Future Invested Totally in Hurts
The Eagles have been fully in on Hurts since he took the starting job from former No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz late in his rookie season and never let go.
Hurts has led the Eagles to the playoffs in all 3 of his seasons as a full-time starter, including a spot in the Super Bowl following the 2022 season.
Philadelphia owner Jeffrey Lurie rewarded the former second round pick (No. 53 overall) with a 5-year, $255 million contract extension in April 2023 that included $185 million in guaranteed money and was the richest contract in NFL history at the time.
Hurts has been a winner on every level. He helped lead Alabama to a College Football Playoff national championship in 2017 and is already a 2-time Pro Bowler and earned NFL All-Pro honors in 2022.
Through his first 4 seasons headed into the game against the Commanders, Hurts had a 41-19 career record as an NFL starting quarterback.
Eagles Have Former First Round Pick as Backup QB
Should Hurts go out with an injury for any amount of time, they have what should be considered one of the NFL’s best backup quarterbacks waiting in the wings.
The Eagles traded for former Pittsburgh Steelers first round pick Kenny Pickett before the 2024 season, swapping two 2025 seventh round picks and a 2024 fourth round pick for Pickett and a 2024 fourth round pick.
Pickett was the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft and went 14-10 as Pittburgh’s starter over his first 2 seasons before losing his starting job to Mason Rudolph after sitting out 4 games late in the 2023 season with a high ankle sprain.
Pickett is in the third year of a fully guaranteed, 4-year, $14 million contract he signed in 2022 that’s due to pay him $2.6 million in 2025 — still slightly under the going rate for a top-level backup quarterback in the NFL.